Roasted Sweet Potato Nourish Bowl

The roasted sweet potato bowl is easy to put together and customizable.  Just chop up some taters and onions, roast them, cook quinoa, and whisk a tahini dressing together.  All of the components can be substituted to fit what you have on hand or what sounds good. 

For more vegetable pack bowls try a chickpea vegetable rice bowl with a cashew dijon dressing or a vegan Southwest sweet potato bowl with a cilantro cashew dressing.

Ingredients

Sweet potato - This roasted potato bowl uses sweet potatoes with chili powder and cumin, but it’s adaptable.  Change up the spices to suit your preference.  They’re also roasted without oil, but if that’s not your style just use a neutral-tasting oil. For more ways to use sweet potatoes try a chickpea bowl with kale and a lemon herb tahini dressing.

Red onion - The onion can be left out if you’re not an onion fan.  Red onions are milder when roasted and the cooking process brings out their natural sweetness.

Quinoa - Use any kind of quinoa that you prefer, or substitute it with brown rice, barley, or millet. For more recipes that include quinoa, try quinoa zesty salad, mustard tempeh Buddha bowl, and butternut squash Buddha bowl.

Chickpeas - Chickpeas can be substituted with any type of bean that you prefer, keep in mind how your substitution would pair well with the smoky tahini dressing.

Kale - Remove the stem and tear the kale into bite-size pieces.  Massaging the kale with a little bit of the dressing will tenderize the kale.  The massaging isn’t necessary if you are using baby kale or you can substitute it with spinach.  

Smoky tahini dressing - The sauce is the main flavor component tying everything together for this sweet potato tahini bowl.  It uses tahini for creaminess, smoked paprika for flavor, and maple syrup to cut through the bitterness of tahini. 

Sauces for veggie bowls

If you don’t have tahini or want to try a different sauce for this kale sweet potato bowl, I have a few other recipes to try:

• Vegan mustard sauce - It is flavor-packed and assertive enough for bitter greens.  
• Cashew dijon dressing - This dressing is milder and goes well with a more mellow green like romaine.
• Cilantro cashew dressing - Uses cilantro as the main flavor driver and I like to pair it with sweet potatoes.

Tips for making this recipe

• The recipe has instructions for how to roast sweet potatoes without oil, if you're not oil-free then skip tossing the potatoes with apple cider vinegar. Instead, toss them with enough neutral-tasting oil to lightly coat the potatoes or use a spritz of non-stick cooking spray.
• I prefer to not peel my sweet potatoes, if you leave the skin on just be sure to scrub them clean to remove any dirt.  
• While your sweet potatoes and red onions are roasting, make your quinoa and tahini dressing.
• How much water your dressing needs depends on how thick your tahini is and your desired consistency.
• The tahini dressing may thicken while in the fridge.  To thin it out just add a tablespoon of water at a time and whisk with a fork to combine.  Add more water if needed to reach your desired consistency.  

How to make oil-free sweet potatoes

To keep this sweet potato nourish bowl oil-free, the potatoes are tossed with apple cider vinegar for added moisture and to hold on to the seasonings.  The vinegar taste will dissipate while roasting. Roasting the red onion brings out its natural sweetness and it already contains a lot of moisture, so it doesn’t necessarily need to be tossed in the vinegar. 

It’s important to stir halfway through because anything lining the outside of the tray will cook faster than other items on the tray.  Rotate food from the center of the tray to the outside and vice versa to ensure consistent roasting.

Lemon juice or vegetable broth can be used instead of apple cider vinegar (I just always have apple cider vinegar on hand).  If you do use oil, then the vinegar can be replaced with a neutral-tasting oil suitable for high heat.

Can I use the roasted sweet potato bowl for meal prep?

Like a lot of leftover roasted veggies, they can lose some texture, but with that in mind, they still work well for meal prepping.  Store the vegetables, quinoa, and chickpeas separately from the kale (or other greens) and the tahini dressing.  Use an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.  

More vegan nourishing bowls

• Burrito Bowl
• Chickpea Vegetable Rice Bowl
• Butternut Squash Buddha Bowl
• Mustard Tempeh Buddha Bowl
• Vegan Southwest Sweet Potato Bowl
• Vegan black bean rice bowl with mango corn salsa

As always, I hope you enjoy this sweet potato nourish bowl recipe! If you like the recipe feel free to rate it and leave a comment.